Social Initiatives to Improve the Lives of Anglers and Truckers

The communities of truck drivers and anglers have consistently contributed to the nation’s economy, with more than 14 million people relying on fishing and aquaculture. Truckers involved in the transportation of the goods acquired from the sea, face long working hours, lack of healthy working conditions, distanced family lives and social stigma.

We took up the concerns of the fishermen and truck drivers of Tamil Nadu and launched multiple campaigns to uplift their working and living conditions. With vast experience and detailed understanding of the markets, Damco is well equipped to understand the needs of those who drive our industry, literally.

We have been actively involved in several corporate social responsibility programs along with World Vision India. Our prolonged association with our esteemed clients have enabled us in taking up these social causes more effectively.

Issues

Relentless working hours, turbulent cash flow and lack of health security have long been the major concerns of these communities. Lack of regular cash flow led to fewer investments for children’s education, and difficulties in running daily household activities.

From the health perspective, they had little to no knowledge of conducting first aid, and often ignored illnesses such as asthma, hepatitis, HIV, AIDS, etc. Since most anglers and truckers spend large amounts of time away from their families, it was yet another source of stress, leading to related health issues. This proved destructive to the overall well-being of the people, as well as their productivity.

Projects And Plans

A comprehensive planned program launched by the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Minister, Mr. D. Jayakumar, aimed to reduce the problems faced by these communities.

Part of our annual profits was utilised to provide solutions to the problems of anglers, truckers and allied population. We constituted a plan that focussed on providing the benefits of first aid, road safety, capacity building, family guidance and rights along with sports and recreation facilities. Members of all age groups were allotted certain activities in order to ensure 360-degree development.

Youth Clubs and intercommunity sports programs were employed to encourage the youth to better utilise their energies and achieve wholesome physical and mental development. The aspiring sport enthusiasts were provided with quality equipment to promote the role of sport in personality building.

Special group interaction sessions, dedicated career enhancement and education programs for inhabitants helped spread the viability of a revolution through education. Monetary assistance was deployed to the needy in order to influence long-standing beliefs.

The importance of life lessons, moral values and health hygiene was disseminated by conducting transformational wellness programs. These programs utilised the essentials of art, culture and co-curricular activities to raise awareness and drive change in society.

Since the strenuous routines end up modifying communication, our representatives arranged for a personal podium where couples could share their memories, dreams and aspirations. Through this, family time and generic bonding was inculcated as a key factor for driving productivity.

Role Of Women

Damco strongly recognises the need to use the potential of women in society. We helped wives of anglers and truckers to take part in vocational activities like sewing, as a tool to set forth a rise in cash flow.

Health And Hygiene

Effective risk management plans were communicated and training was organised for all the people in the communities. This was done to ensure their well-being in the event of a natural disaster.

Special programs taught truck drivers and anglers more about first aid. First aid kits were distributed and installed on major highways as well as traffic control booths in Chennai.

Safer drinking facilities were installed at truck terminals throughout the target regions of Chennai port, Madhavaram, Thiruvottriyur, Minjur and Ponneri. Regular health check-ups were conducted to identify and determine susceptibility to diseases. Furthermore, it provided a platform to educate the people on the best health and hygiene practices.

These services would have been impossible without the support we received from our premier partnerships with medical and research institutions, community networks, government departments, policy authorities and NGOs. Leading logistics companies, Indian Oil Corporation, Traffic Control Unit, Highway Patrol and other associations have contributed to the efficacy of our programs.

We are also a member of TN HIV and AIDS Consortium, engaging in counselling, nutrition, psychosocial, and legal services for those afflicted with HIV and AIDS.

Challenges

One of the major challenges faced whilst undertaking these initiatives, was in terms of monetary support. To generate enough funding to carry out this idea successfully, and on a widespread scale, required a willingness to contribute. The problems faced by these marginalised communities required first-hand research to determine the primary areas of focus.

Another challenge faced was the social stigma associated with these communities. A lack of willingness and motivation to help them, affected our initiatives.

The Work Continues…

Until now, we have helped 1600 people, conducted over 120 programs across multiple age groups and achieved over 16,000 targets. We remain committed to the cause and are extremely optimistic about restoring working efficiencies in the fishing and truckers industry.

Our plans include initiating the construction of sheds in the fish markets along with bio toilets. We will be conducting specialized WASH training sessions as well as employee engagement programs. We seek to significantly improve the quality of life for these sectors by 2019, by providing these communities and their families, a caring and protective environment with safer access to water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Nagarajan Kumaraswamy is the CSO Head for south India and is responsible for Customer service and operations within this region. He has been with the Maersk group from 2000 onwards, responsible for various roles like Managing Warehousing & Distribution, CFS, Import & Export Logistics and Key Account Management. Nagarajan lives in Chennai and has been a part of Damco since January 2016.

One Response so far.

This is truly inspiring. The efforts by Damco India and the NGOs to make a difference in a meaningful, comprehensive and committed way to this community is very much needed, and it provides a good source of motivation to the rest of the world to be active and make a an impact for good.

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